Price tag molding



Jan. 10, 1967 w DEUCHAR 3,296,724

PRICE TAG MOLDING Filed March 17, 1964 MM Hil 0 0 o "I" Illllll 9 FIG?) INVENTOR: ANCIS WARWKLK DEUCHAR BY f, yaw

ATT'Y mu llm United States Patent '0 PRICE TAG MGLBING Francis Warwick Dencliar, Beryl St, Croydon, Victoria, Australia Filed Mar. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 352,604 Claims priority, application Australia, Mar. 27, 1963,

Claims. ((11. 40-10) This invention relates to price tag molding or beading having novel and improved features, and more particularly, this invention is concerned with a price tag display device including a molding which has an interlocking function when used in combination with a specially constructed price tag, card or ticket. In general, the novel molding of the invention is of the type adapted to be mounted along the front of store shelves in order to display removable or interchangeable price tags which are necessary for pricing a large inventory of products, for

example as commonly used in grocery stores, drug stores, 1

discount houses and the like.

In the extensive use of price tags arranged on store shelves by insertion into oppositely disposed grooves of a one-piece molding, a number of serious and costly problems have long been apparent and in some cases have even resulted in the discontinuation of this means of merchandising. These problems arise because the price tags are only loosely held in the grooves of the molding, and customers or especially their children can easily displace the price tags from one position to another or even dislodge the price tags so that they become lost, damaged or soiled. Also, it is very difficult to properly clean the store shelves and the molding without displacing or accidentally removing the price tags, thereby wasting considerable time and effort.

Some attempts have been made to overcome these problems by devising moldin s which will more or less hold the price tags in place and prevent their unauthorized or accidental removal. For example, a one-piece molding has been used with a concave surface between the two opposing grooves, and a flexible price tag is carefully made so as to have a height corresponding exactly to that of the concave surface of the molding, thereby permitting the tag to be bowed inwardly against this concave surface and to be fit so tightly that it cannot be easily moved by hand. However, this type of molding is not completely acceptable in practice because it is relatively expensive to manufacture the molding and the price tags within the precise degree of tolerance required to obtain a proper fitting of the tags in the molding. Furthermore, a special tool is required in order to remove the tags during the usual course of business in remarking the shelves.

Other moldings or price tag display devices have also been suggested, e.g., by using a transparent covering over the tags or by providing some additional structure in addition to the grooved molding to hold the price tag in place. Such devices, regardless of how well they function, are less desirable because of the increased cost in providing additional component parts, the difiiculty in assembling more complex structures in some locations, or the necessity of using a special tool during the regular insertion or interchanging of the tags. Thus, these devices with two or more components in the molding itself do not provide a completely satisfactory response to the demand for an inexpensive and effective means of displaying price tags.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved price tag molding which can be made as an integral or unitary structure and which can be used in combination with special price tags in an interlocking hook and groove construction which holds the tags in place but still permits authorized persons to easily mount,

3,29%,724 Patented Jan. 10,1967

remove or rearrange the tags in spaced relationship to each other in the molding.

Another object of the invention is to provide a onepiece price tag molding in which the price tags can be conveniently mounted or fitted and retained without accidental or intentional displacement or easy removal by store customers or their children and without accidental displacement or removal during shelf cleaning.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved one-piece price tag molding which can be easily manufactured and installed for the display of price tags and which does not require any other separate component part or special tools to secure the price tags in place or to permit a complete rearrangement or interchanging of the tags as required.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a novel combination of a price tag moldingand a price tag constructed so as to interlock or interconnect with each other while avoiding the necessity of a very close degree of tolerance in the size of the tags with respect to the height of the molding between its grooved surfaces.

It has now been found in accordance with the present invention that the above objects and advantages can be achieved by providing a price tag molding comprising an elongated base strip having a substantially flat back wall and a forwardly projecting re-entrant flange along each of the upper and lower edges of the back wall, these flanges defining oppositely disposed parallel longitudinal grooves for receiving the upper and lower marginal edges of price tags, and the base strip also having a longitudinal row of spaced hooks projecting outwardly from the back wall within the upper longitudinal groove for insertion through apertures along the upper marginal edges of the tags. The hooks are preferably integral with the back wall in the form of a stamped projection partially cut out of the material of the back wall and bent upwardly at an acute angle from the back wall, thereby providing a unitary or one-piece construction throughout the molding.

By forming a relatively deep groove with the upper flange and by forming a relatively wide angle between this flange and the upper portion of the back wall, the price tag can be inserted upwardly along the inner surface of the upper flange at about the same angle and with just suflicient clearance between said inner surface and the front edges of the hooks until the apertures of the tags are in alignment with the hooks. The lower edge of the tag can then be swung downwardly with insertion of the hooks in the apertures and the hooks acting as a hinge or pivot axis, with the lower flange being constructed as a relatively shallow groove and at a relatively narrow angle with the back wall, preferably parallel thereto so as to form a U-shaped groove of slightly greater crosssectional width than the thickness of the lower marginal portion of the price tag. With the tag fully inserted in the upper groove and the hooks passing through the apertures of the tag, there must be sufficient clearance for the lower edge of the tag to pass over the upper lip of the lower flange until the tag lays flat against the back wall of the molding. Then, because the apertures in the tag are somewhat larger than the hooks, the lower edge of the tag can be permitted to drop into the lower groove.

The invention is more fully disclosed and exemplified in the following detailed description taken together with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, with a portion of the flanges cut away, illustrating one embodiment of the novel molding mounted on a shelf with one price tag being fully inserted in the molding and another tag being in the process of removal;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the same molding as shown in FIG. 1; i

FIG. 3 is a view of a typical price tag;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 44 of FIG. 2 and illustrating the various positions of the price tag for insertion and removal from the molding;

FIG. is a front view, with a portion of the flanges cut away, illustrating another embodiment of the molding according to the invention wherein a longitudinal channel extends across the back of the molding for mounting on a perpendicular shelf edge; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 66 of FIG. 5 to illustrate the backwardly projecting channel and the hook construction in this particular embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing, FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 show a molding which can be extruded and/ or formed from any suitable metal or plastic material to provide an elongated or attenuated unitary flat base strip having a back wall 1 with a substantially unbroken flat surface on the front or exposed face thereof and two re-entrant flanges including an upper flange 2 and a lower flange 3 which together define a pair of substantially U-shaped grooves 2 and 3'. The flanged grooves are parallel to each other and are adapted to receive the corresponding upper and lower maginal edge portions of price tags such as the two tags 4 and 5 shown resting on the flat surface of the back wall 1. Within the groove formed by the upper flange, a plurality of hooks 6 are evenly spaced in a longitudinal row and sufliciently close to each other to provide at least two adjacent hooks up to about six hooks for insertion through correspondingly spaced apertures 7 in each price tag.

In FIG. 3, a typical price tag 4 according to the invention can be made out of a sheet stock of almost any material such as cardboard, metal, wood or plastic, and it is also possible to mold or extrude plastic materials, i.e., synthetic polymers or resins, into the desired shape and construction. The price tag is preferably a stiff and substantially rigid rectangular member in which the upper and lower edges 8 and 9 are parallel to each other. Depending on the width of the tag, it should contain from two up to five or six circular apertures 7 uniformly spaced in a row parallel to the upper edge 8 and falling within the marginal portion of the tag adjacent to this upper edge. There are three holes 7 in the tag shown in FIG. 3, and in all cases the holes are uniformly spaced apart from each other by a distance x. Then, by spacing the outermost holes inwardly by a distance x/2 from the vertical sides of the tag, it will be apparent that two or more tags can be positioned side by side on the hooks 6 while maintaining the uniform spacing of hooks and apertures throughout the complete assembly. Adjacent tags can be printed in an appropriate manner to make various price combinations, or by using letters in place of numerals to spell words for display in the molding.

The molding is mounted on a wood shelf 10 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 by means of a number of nails or screws 11 passing through the back wall 1 at intervals along the molding. Such fastening means as screws, nails or rivets are preferably countersunk into the flat surface of the back wall so that price tags can be mounted thereover and conform to the back wall. The front edge of the shelf can be beveled as shown to provide easier viewing of the price tags. The molding may also be mounted on metal shelves in a similar manner and the moldings and/ or shelves can be easily modified in various ways for attaching one to the other without losing the advantages of the invention.

In onev preferred embodiment of the invention, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the back wall 1 is shaped to provide a relatively narrow longitudinal channel 12 located at a point below the hooks 6 and in the fully exposed area between the flanges 2 and 3. This channel extends rearwardly of the back wall as an integral part thereof so as to form upper and lower walls 13 and 14 and a rear wall 15. By placing this rear wall at an angle to the remainder of the back wall of the base strip, the molding can be mounted on a perpendicular shelf by nails or screws 16 so that the price tags are held in a slightly upturned position for easier viewing on lower shelves. The heads of the screws, nails, rivets or other fastening means are carried within the channel so that there is no interference with the price tags resting on the flat surface of the back wall.

The series of hooks 6 or 6' can be partially cut or punched from the back wall 1, for example, by making a substantially rectangular projection attached to the back wall at the upper end as in FIG. 4 or at the lower end as in FIG. 6 and bending this projection upwardly in front of the back wall, preferably such that the hook forms an acute angle with the back wall. The projecting or leading edge of each hook must not extend completely across the groove but instead must terminate at a distance from the inner surface of the upper flange Z suflicient to permit easy insertion of the price tag in aligning the apertures with the hooks. Of course, the hooks can be punched or struck out in a variety of shapes, and it is also possible to attach separate hooks to the back wall or insert hooks through apertures in the back wall, but such methods of constructing the device are apt to be much more expensive.

The price tags in the drawing are shown with their back surfaces resting flat on the back Wall, the tag 4 resting in the grooves defined by both flanges 2 and 3 and the tag 5 being pushed upwardly into the upper groove in the process of being removed from the molding. The method of detaching the tags can best be explained in conjunction with FIG. 4 wherein the tag 4 is initially in an interlocked position on the hooks 6 with its lower edge having dropped into the groove 3 in the direction I). In order to disengage the tag it must first be pushed upwardly with the thumb of one hand in the direction b, the upper groove 2 being sufficiently deep to accommodate this upward movement of the tag and the apertures 7 having a sufiicient vertical elongation to permit the lower edge 9 of the tag to be raised to a point where it can swing forwardly in the direction a and just clear the upper lip of the lower flange 3. Because the tag is resting on the flat surface of the back wall, it is practically impossible to use one hand both to push the tag up and then swing the lower edge outwardly. Thus for easy removal of the tag, it is necessary to hold it in the upper position b with the thumb of one hand While using the other hand to insert a small piece of cardboard or paper, e.g., a matehbook cover, behind the tag and pry it forward to the position a, after which it is free of the hooks 6 and can then be easily withdrawn from the upper groove 2. With the channel construction 12 of FIGS. 5 and 6, a pencil or any other rod or stick can be used to swing out the lower edge of the tag simply by placing the point of the pencil into that portion of the channel which runs behind the tag.

Insertion of the tags in the molding is likewise quite easy to perform. The tag is first caused to slide upwardly on the inner surface of the upper flange 2 until the apertures in the tag rest over the hooks 6 as shown by the dotted outline of the tag in FIG. 4. The lower edge of the tag is then swung inwardly over the upper edge or lip of the lower flange 3 in the direction a, and the tag then falls into the groove 3' in the direction b.

The exact dimensions of the grooves 2 and 3', the size and position of the hooks 6 and the dimensions of the price tags and their apertures can be readily determined by observation of the manner in which the molding functions to interlock the price tags. It is an especially advantageous feature of this invention that these various dimensions are not particularly critical as long as the dimensions are kept substantially uniform for each component of the structure. The tags actually can fit quite loosely in the retaining flanges, and it is not necessary to maintain close tolerances during extrusion, cutting, punching or shaping operations, thereby avoiding the higher costs inherent in precision manufacturing. Thus, variations in the height of the tags through faulty manufacture and slight damage or wear during their use does not affect the mannner in which they are secured in the molding.

In general, the lower flange 3 can be quite small and the resulting groove 3' very shallow, since the distance which the tag will drop into this groove corresponds to the relatively short length of movement permited by the hooks 6 inserted in the apertures 7. Where these apertures are circular, their diameter may be only slightly larger than the width of the hooks. The lower flange preferably forms a U-shaped groove having the inner surface of this flange substantially parallel to the opposing surface of the back wall 1 andat a distance therefrom just suflicient to permit the tag to be slidably inserted in the groove. Again, tolerance is not especially critical, and the width of the groove 3 can be approximately one and one-half the thickness of the tag, thus permitting considerable play. Similarly, the distance between the leading edges of the hooks 6 and the inner surface of the upper flange 2 can be about one and one-half times the thickness of the upper marginal edge portion of the tags. In this respect, however, it will be apparent that the upper flange 2 must form a relatively larger angle with the back wall 1 in order to provide this clearance, as well as forming a relatively deeper groove 2 in order to position the hooks 6 entirely within the groove and to permit the apertures in the upper end of the price tag to become engaged with the hooks.

In view of the above description, it should be apparent that the price tag display device of the present invention can be manufactured at a minimum cost as a onepiece molding together with inexpensive price tags. The hooks of the molding act to secure or interlock the price tags in place preventing any casual dislocation by customers or their children. Furthermore, displacement of the tags in a lateral direction as might occur by accident in cleaning the shelves or in brushing against the front edges of the shelves is obviously prevented by the hooks. No special tools are required by store employees for insertion or rearrangement of the tags, thereby avoiding the problem of losing or misplaoin-g such tools as is apt to be quite common in grocery stores where a relatively large number of part time and inexperienced helpers are often employed and cannot be relied upon to take care of a small tool. On the other hand, any employee can be quickly instructed in the method of inserting the price tags (which requires no special effort of any kind) and in the particular techniques of removing the tags. The price tag molding of the invention can also be viewed as a form of puzzle where it is extremely easy to engage or interlock the price tags therein but the reverse procedure is apt to require some careful thought if not previously explained. In this result, the new molding is especially effective in discouraging children from removing the tags, 2. problem which has been practically insoluble with previous devices for displaying price tags.

Minor variations or modifications can be easily made in the molding and/or price tags as described and claimed herein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. It is expected that similar hook and groove arrangements in the molding other than the specific embodiments shown will be readily suggested to those skilled in the art, and accordingly the invention should not be limited to the particular examples described and illustrated by this specification.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A price tag molding comprising an elongated base strip adapted to be mounted on a supporting surface, said base strip having a substantially flat back wall and a forwardly projecting re-entrant flange along each of the upper and lower edges of said back wall, said flanges defining oppositely disposed parallel longitudinal grooves adapted to receive the upper and lower marginal edges of price tags, and said base strip also having a longitudinal row of spaced hooks projecting outwardly from said back wall such that the outermost hook extension falls within the upper longitudinal groove for insertion of the hooks through corresponding apertures along the upper marginal edges of said price tags, the upper flange of said base strip forming adeeper tag retaining groove and a wider angle with the back wall than does the lower flange and said hooks being arranged within said upper groove in order to permit an individual price tag to be inserted upwardly along the inner surface of said top flange at about the same angle as said inner surface until the lower edge of said price tag is capable of clearing the upper lip of said lower flange with said hooks being inserted in said price tag apertures.

2. A price tag molding comprising an elongated base strip adapted to be mounted on a supporting surface, said base strip having a back wall with a forwardly projecting re-entrant flange along each of the upper and lower edges of said back Wall, said flanges defining oppositely disposed parallel longitudinal grooves adapted to receive the upper and lower marginal edges of price tags, and said base strip also having a longitudinal row of spaced hooks which are integral with said base strip as a stamped projection therefrom extending outwardly from said back wall and bent upwardly to form an acute angle between the hook extension and said back wall such that the outermost hook extension falls Within the upper longitudinal groove for insertion of the hooks through corresponding apertures along the upper marginal edges of said price tags.

3. A price tag molding as claimed in claim 2 wherein said hooks are uniformly spaced from each other in sufficiently close relationship to provide at least two adjacent hooks for insertion through correspondingly spaced apertures in each of said price tags.

4. A price tag molding as claimed in claim 2 wherein the upper flange is placed at such an angle from the back wall as to provide just sufficient clearance for the thickness of the upper marginal edges of said price tags between the inner surface of said upper flange and the front edges of said hooks, and said lower flange is approximately parallel to said back wall with the opposing surfaces of the lower groove formed thereby being spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the lower marginal edges of said price tags.

5. A price tag molding as claimed in claim 4 wherein a longitudinal channel is formed in the back wall of said base strip intermediate the upper and lower flanges and extending rearwardly from the back wall as a means for mounting said molding to a shelf.

6. A price tag molding as claimed in claim 4 wherein an approximately U-shaped groove is formed by each of said upper and lower flanges with the back wall.

7. An interlocking price tag display device comprising in combination: a price tag having its lower and upper edges parallel to each other and containing at least two evenly spaced apertures in the marginal portion adjacent to and in a row parallel to the upper edge thereof; and a one-piece molding for displaying said price tag consisting essentially of an elongated base strip having a substantially flat back wall and a forwardly projecting re-entrant flange along each of the upper and lower edges of the back wall, said flanges being integral with said back wall and defining therewith a pair of oppositely disposed parallel longitudinal groves adapted to receive the marginal portions adjacent the upper and lower edges of said price tag, and said base strip also having a longitudinal row of evenly spaced hooks integral with said back wall and projecting outwardly therefrom such that the outermost hook extension falls within the upper longitudinal groove for interlocking insertion through the corresponding price tag apertures.

8. A device as claimed in claim 7 wherein the apertures of said price tag are substantially circular with a diameter larger than the width of said hooks.

9. A device as claimed in claim 7 wherein the vertical height of the back wall is greater than the vertical height of said price tag, and the apertures in said price tag are sufiiciently large to permit movement of the tag while inserted on said hooks upwardly in the groove formed by the upper flange until the lower edge of said tag clears the upper lip of the lower flange.

10. A device as claimed in claim 9 wherein the upper flange is arranged at such an angle from the back wall as to provide just suflicient clearance for the thickness of the upper marginal portion of the price tag between the inner surface of said upper flange and the front edges of said hooks which are bent outwardly at an acute angle from said back wall, and said lower flange is approximately parallel to said back wall with the opposing surfaces of the lower groove formed thereby being spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the lower marginal portion of said price tag.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

JEROME SCHNALL, Examiner.

W. I. CONTRERAS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A PRICE TAG MOLDING COMPRISING AN ELONGATED BASE STRIP ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED ON A SUPPORTING SURFACE, SAID BASE STRIP HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT BACK WALL AND A FORWARDLY PROJECTING RE-ENTRANT FLANGE ALONG EACH OF THE UPPER AND LOWER EDGES OF SAID BACK WALL, SAID FLANGES DEFINING OPPOSITELY DISPOSED PARALLEL LONGITUDINAL GROOVES ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE UPPER AND LOWER MARGINAL EDGES OF PRICE TAGS, AND SAID BASE STRIP ALSO HAVING A LONGITUDINAL ROW OF SPACED HOOKS PROJECTING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID BACK WALL SUCH THAT THE OUTERMOST HOOK EXTENSION FALLS WITHIN THE UPPER LONGITUDINAL GROOVE FOR INSERTION OF THE HOOKS THROUGH CORRESPONDING APERTURES ALONG THE UPPER MARGINAL EDGES OF SAID PRICE TAGS, THE UPPER FLANGE OF SAID BASE STRIP FORMING A DEEPER TAG RETAINING GROOVE AND A WIDER ANGLE WITH THE BACK WALL THAN DOES THE LOWER FLANGE AND SAID HOOKS BEING ARRANGED WITHIN SAID UPPER GROOVE IN ORDER TO PERMIT AN INDIVIDUAL PRICE TAG TO BE INSERTED UPWARDLY ALONG THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID TOP FLANGE AT ABOUT THE SAME ANGLE AS SAID INNER SURFACE UNTIL THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID PRICE TAG IS CAPABLE OF CLEARING THE UPPER LIP OF SAID LOWER FLANGE WITH SAID HOOKS BEING INSERTED IN SAID PRICE TAG APERTURES. 